Most soft luggage designs generally consists of a fabric body having corners formed by cutting, folding and sewing. The luggage is often defined by flexible walls which are typically made from cloth materials. These cloth (or fabric) materials are unable to maintain a defined shape and are easily damaged by corrosive liquids, sharp objects, or excessive friction on a rough surface.
Additionally, resilient material is often affixed onto the side faces of the luggage to provide a rigid construction. This rigid construction prevents the luggage from collapsing inwards when the luggage's contents are removed. The rigid construction also allows the placement of straps, wheels, zippers, and additional compartments (both internal and external). This same design is also utilized in the construction of smaller portable hand luggage. Unfortunately, this standard design has inherent problems.
The standard soft luggage design creates problems over prolonged use. For example, the top and bottom faces of the soft luggage are highly susceptible to damage from contact with pavement, airline luggage containers, and even other luggage. The folded and sewn seams produce points of concentrated wear. To circumvent such problems hard shelled luggage design have been created. Unfortunately, hard shell luggage designs are bulky, difficult to handle, and occupy a large amount space even when the luggage is empty.
Another inherent problem with the standard soft luggage design is the limitation on geometrical shapes. Because the comers of the luggage's flexible walls may be combined with a resilient material, it is necessary to require simple geometric shapes to reduce construction costs. For example, a duffel bag construction with a hexagonal top and bottom face would require resilient material sewn into each of eight sides to create this unique shape. The costs associated with creating this complex design discourages production.
A further problem associated with the standard soft luggage design is the limitation imposed upon styling. In particular, the stitching used to inter-connect the luggage's flexible walls or the stitching used to attach the resilient material appears on the exterior of the luggage, thus detracting from the esthetic appearance of the luggage. This esthetic concern is compounded by the external stitching required to attach straps, zippers, and additional compartments to the luggage.
It is therefore desirable to have a method for designing durable soft luggage that is esthetically pleasing. The method must also be capable of constructing different geometric shapes including curved corners to spread wear over a larger area.